Chapter 18 – The Mark of the Beast

In Revelation 13:16, the land beast compels all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead.

Revelation 13:16 (WEB) He causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slave, to be given marks on their right hands, or on their foreheads;

The mark of Revelation 13:16 had both a spiritual and physical component. Spiritually, it signifies loyalty to Rome and allegiance to the beast. On the other hand, the physical component of the mark is represented by the Roman coins and deeds with Caesar’s image that the Jews were forced to use for buying and selling. The mark became a symbol of compliance and participation in the Roman system. The number 666, associated with the mark, is believed to be linked the figures Nero, Vespasian, and Titus, as well as to the Jewish entity represented by the ten horns of the sea beast. Overall, the mark of the beast represents the imposition of Roman authority and the challenges faced by those who refused to comply.

A Spiritual Mark

Those loyal to Rome were spiritually branded with the beast’s mark (Revelation 13:16). The spiritual mark proved whom one belonged to or whom one served (Exodus 13:15-16). In Ezekiel, those who sighed and groaned over the abominations committed in Jerusalem were spiritually marked (Ezekiel 9:3-6). The 144,000 saints loyal to God were spiritually marked on their foreheads (Ephesians 4:30; Revelation 7:3; 14:1). Christian Jews would naturally contrast receiving the mark of the beast “on their right hands, or on their foreheads” with failing to keep God’s laws and their testimony about Christ in their thoughts or their deeds (Exodus 13:9; Deuteronomy 6:4-8; Revelation 14:11-12).

In Deuteronomy 6:4-8, God illustrated the importance of remembering and obeying his commands by instructing them to make his words and commandments a sign on their hand and frontlets between their eyes. He did not intend for Jews to literally walk around with the Mosaic law written on their hands and between their eyes.

Deuteronomy 6:4-8 (WEB) Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one. 5 You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. 6 These words, which I command you today, shall be on your heart; 7 and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them for a sign on your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes.

Having God’s laws as a sign on the hand and forehead meant to think about and act according to the things God commanded. Similarly, having the mark of the beast symbolized obedience to the will of the beast.

A Physical Mark

The physical component of the mark was the Roman coins and deeds with Caesar’s image that the Romans forced the Jews to use if they wanted to buy or sell.

Revelation 13:17 (WEB) and that no one would be able to buy or to sell, unless he has that mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.

Before the start of the war in 66 AD, the Jews minted their own coins without graven images on them. The second commandment in the Mosaic law forbade the Jews from bowing down, serving, or creating carved images in the likeness of anything in the heavens, earth, or waters (Exodus 20:4; Deuteronomy 5:8). The depiction of Caesar on Roman coins posed a direct violation of the second commandment. Morais describes one of the coins the Romans forced the Jews to use after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD:

¹

After the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 all Jews who remained in Judaea, Jerusalem and the rest of Israel in addition to those who were exiled throughout Rome were forced to use Roman money marked with the name and image of the beast [Caesar]. Thus after the fall of Jerusalem it would have been impossible to buy or sell anywhere in the Roman Empire without the mark of the beast. Thus it is interesting to note that a coin issued in A.D. 72 is marked with the following legend around Vespasian’s head: IMP CAES VESP AVG P M COS IIII. If one were to transliterate this inscription into Hebrew characters it would read as follows ymp qys wsp ‘wg p m kws d.148 The sum total of the numerical values of these Hebrew characters adds up to 666 in explicit fulfillment of Revelation 13:17-18.²

Additionally, when people worshiped Nero, they “received a certificate or mark of approval – charagma, the same word used in Revelation 13:16.”³ Richard Anthony says,

All those under the jurisdiction of Rome were required by law to publicly proclaim their allegiance to Caesar by burning a pinch of incense and declaring, ‘Caesar is Lord.’ Upon compliance with this law, the people were given a papyrus document called a ‘libellus,’ which they were required to present when either stopped by the Roman police or attempting to engage in commerce in the Roman marketplace, increasing the difficulty of ‘buying or selling’ without this mark.⁴

Those loyal to Rome demonstrated their allegiance by disregarding God’s commands, worshiping the beast, and utilizing the Roman deeds and currency that were imposed.

The Meaning of 666

In many ancient languages, including Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, the letters also served as numbers. The dual meanings of these letters created an art form in that day called cryptograms or gematria, where the letters of a name were added to encode and decode an individual’s identity. The angel said the number “666,” also “616” in some manuscripts, was the number for a man (Revelation 13:18).

Revelation 13:18 (BSB) Here is a call for wisdom: Let the one who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and that number is 666. [some manuscripts say 616].

Kenneth Gentry illustrates that the sum of each letter of the Hebrew spelling of Nero Caesar adds up to 666.⁵ When transliterated into Hebrew, the Latin form of Nero Caesar also totals 616.⁶ Nero’s constituents also called him a beast.⁷

Nero was the head of the Hydra/sea beast that was severed, but as described in “Chapter 15 – The Sea Beast,” two heads grew up in its place. Brian Jones says Titus and Vespasian went by the joint title, “Titus Flavius Vespasianus Augustus.”⁸ When translated into Hebrew, this title also adds up to 666.⁹ Hence, they inherit the 666 value of the first head.

A Possible Jewish 666

Recall that the ten horns of the sea beast were ten Jewish generals, showing that the sea beast was not exclusively Roman. Perhaps the 666 mark of the beast also pointed to a Jewish entity. Many scholars have suggested this, noting that King Solomon was said to collect “666” talents of gold per year (1 Kings 10:14; 2 Chronicles 9:13), and that Solomon built the temple, where those rejecting Jesus continued to worship. Such a view would be consistent with the idea that symbols in Revelation sometimes describe more than one thing (Revelation 17:9-10).

Summary

In summary, the mark of the beast represented loyalty to Rome and was expressed through the use of Roman coins, libellus, charagmas, and the obligation to pledge allegiance to Caesar in order to buy or sell. It also had implications for a potential Jewish entity. Additionally, the number 666 cryptographically represented Rome’s Caesars: Nero, Vespasian, and Titus. This mark exorts Christians to remain loyal to God even in the face of persecution.

Footnotes